SAINTS OR SATANISTS? THE RITUAL AND SYMBOL OF ORDO TEMPLI ORIENTIS.
The distinction between formal religious institutions and alternative religions has
become blurred in modern times. No longer is the spirituality of the Western World
solely dominated by traditional Christian ideology. Nowadays, there is a plethora of
alternative belief practices finding legitimacy in both academic and non-academic
settings. The socio-cultural nuances that permeate these less identifiable religious
institutions are now respected and recognized by secular powers and many enjoy
federally recognized tax exemption as a religious entity. Such is the case with Ordo
Templi Orientis. A religious group that now claims over 1600 members of the flock,
The O.T.O. is a steadily growing religious organization that has its own credo,
ritualization, and symbolic system. Throughout the course of this paper, I will be
discussing the many facets of the O.T.O. in an attempt to glean some insights into this
mysterious society. It is my hope that by delineating some of the ritual and practices of
this group, a better understanding of more obscure religious movements will arise.
Ordo Templi Orientis is a religious group that traces its spiritual origins to the
foundation of the Order of Knights Templar in 1108 and more historically, to the 18th
century Rosicrucian Orders. (http://www.oto-usa.org/) In 1902, Karl Kellner and
Theodore Reuss founded the O.T.O. in Germany and made its primary base of operation
in Luga, Switzerland. According to Bill Heidrick, “It is documented that O.T.O. sprang
from the Hermetic Brotherhood of Light as the creation of Karl Kellner, a member of that
fraternity. The Hermetic Brotherhood of Light continued independently of O.T.O., its
own right, and was still in existence in Oakland, California as late as 1970”
(http://hermetic.com/heidrick/oto_history.html). Between 1902 and 1932, the O.T.O.
appropriated many Masonic and occult societies into its teachings and continued to grow
in social and ritualistic complexity. Utilizing the influence of Rosicrucianism, esoteric
Christianity, and Judaic mysticism, the O.T.O. became an amalgamation of occult
thought.
Perhaps the most significant event that occurred within the O.T.O. timeline was
the 1910 admittance of Aleister Crowley into the Order. A magician infamous for
heretical ravings and sorcery, Crowley completely restructured the O.T.O. by putting an
emphasis on Thelemic philosophy. Thelema is a magico-religious philosophy that holds
the axiom: ‘Do What Thou Wilt Shall Be The Whole Of The Law’. According to Legend,
Crowley was given the Book Of The Law in 1904 by an entity named Aiwass in the
Egyptian desert. Crowley recalls that “his guardian angel Aiwass appeared to him and
dictated the Book Of The Law. The Book Of The Law concerns the dawn of a third aeon
of mankind: the first aeon was that of the goddess Isis, centered around matriarchy and
the worship of the Great Mother; the second aeon was that of Osiris, during which the
patriarchal religions of suffering and death-ie-Judaism and Christianity-rose to power.
Finally, with the revelation of the Book Of The Law, a new aeon of the son, Horus, was
born” (16). This book is an ideological treatise that puts focus on magic and adherence to
one’s own Will. The idea is that by accepting the Law of Thelema, you are accepting
Liber Al as a spiritual foundation but under no obligation to follow any specific religious
study or ritual. According to Urdan, “the Law of Thelema avows and justifies selfishness;
it confirms the inmost conviction of each one of us that he is the centre of the cosmos”
(Urban year: 16). As a way to cultivate the Self, this methodology works well as an
organizational tool and many O.T.O. initiates practice the Thelemic system.
Ordo Templi Orientis is an initiatory society that teaches the mysteries of the
ancient past. Although they don’t teach a system of magic per se, many local lodges do
offer classes and seminars on various aspects of magical tradition. It is thought that the
initiations of the ancient mysteries offer “both practical and theoretical value to the
serious student of magick” (http://www.oto-usa.org/). Moreover, the O.T.O. belief system
does not restrict initiates various belief systems. In fact, you can be Christian, Buddhist,
Muslim, Druid, or Sikh and still be an O.T.O. initiate. Luhrmann states that the OTOs
“relationship to that larger culture (Christianity), is curious, for the rituals are a syncretic
porridge of widely varied motifs” (Luhrmann year: 154). Through the fusion of various
belief systems and ideologies, the O.T.O. showcases a plethora of initiatory paradigms
the initiate can use to develop their True Will. Also, implicit in the O.T.O. ethos is the
idea that a background spiritual knowledge or foundation is beneficial to an initiates
progress within the Order.
O.T.O. ritual is laden with theatrics and dramatical recreations of ancient mystery
ritualization. For example, the Greco-Roman rites of Eleusis have been performed at
various times since 1910. Although these rites are purported to be based on the
Eleusinian mystery rituals, research has shown that the O.T.O. rites of Eleusis differ
greatly from their ancient Grecian counterparts. In fact, the only similarity between
O.T.O.’s Eleusis and the rites of the ancient mystery religion is in name only.
Furthermore, perhaps the most popular and well-known O.T.O. ritual is the
Gnostic Mass. According to Lingam, “members of the O.T.O. value the Gnostic Mass as
one of the most significant Thelemic rituals, and it is regularly practiced by O.T.O.
lodges worldwide” (Lingam year: 29). The Gnostic Mass is a highly elaborate and
stylized ritual that involves liturgy, attention to gestures, and costumes. Typically, a High
Altar is set up with two pillars adorning either side. These pillars are symbolic of the
bronze pillars Boaz and Jachin which stood at the entrance of Solomon’s Temple. On the
Altar rests the ‘Stele of Revealing’, an Egyptian painting that Crowley saw before his
encounter with the entity called Aiwass. Throughout the ritual, a priestess who is
traditionally nude kneels before a priest holding a lance and strokes the phallic symbol
several times. An overtly erotic gesture, the priest and priestess are meant to symbolize
male and female energy in the universe. Reverence is shown to The Book Of The Law
and a Eucharistic meal of wine and cake are consumed at the culmination of the rite. As
the most important O.T.O. ritual, the Gnostic Mass is a cherished performance and one in
which every initiate is encouraged to participate.
The importance placed on O.T.O. ritual stems from the idea of becoming that
occurs through being in a liminal state. As a vehicle for personal change, the ritual is
meant to promote a conscious growth in initiates. Tambiah remarks that, “they are
meant by virtue of being enacted, (under the appropriate conditions) to achieve a
change of state, or do something effective” (Tambiah 1973:221). The O.T.O. ritual is a
perfect illustration of Arnold Van Gennep’s ‘rite of passage’. As the veil of perception
is pulled aside and initiates experience the liminal rites, they undergo intense spiritual
change.
O.T.O. ritualization ascribes meaning in its performance through a combination
of experiential and affective ecology. Adherents are moved by the experience. As
Luhrmann states, “ritually enacting a myth is profoundly different from hearing it told;
doing and listening have a distinctive impact on meaning” (Luhrmann year:157). By
participating in O.T.O. ritual, initiates are emotionally invested in the liminal experience.
As “communication without information”, the ritual experience promotes feelings of
group solidarity and personal engagement.
Contrary to what many may think about the O.T.O., there is no evidence of
violence, satanic ritual abuse, or sexual misconduct within the Order. Although Crowley
himself was deemed ‘the wickedest man on earth’ and thoroughly enjoyed his reputation
as ‘demon whisperer’, the O.T.O. has sought to dispel rumor panics of Satanism and/or
Black Magic within its organization. In fact, “O.T.O. makes no claims or representations
to be either Satanic or anti-Christian. We find that these characterizations serve no real
purpose in describing what we are about, or our vision for humanity. Rather than being
anti-Christian, we are in fact pro-thelema: We support the thelemic ideals of freedom of
religious and personal self-expression; emancipation from superstition and social
oppression; and the development of a world view which supports and encourages the
age-old vision of the Universal Brotherhood of mankind” (www.oto-usa.org).
O.T.O. literature doesn’t specify any beliefs toward apocalypse, doomsday, or
end-times. As stated before, each individual is encouraged to hold any belief system that
lead to fruition of the True Will. Subsequently, a Catholic’s idea of Revelation or a
Buddhist’s belief in Samsara are both welcomed within the Order. Mention is made that
as long as these religious beliefs do not hinder the development and expression of the
Will, they will be accepted as part of the initiatory process.
Although O.T.O. refrains from apocalypse and doomsday ideas of end-times, they
most certainly believe that we have entered a kind of Aquarian age. As we traverse
through the aeon of Horus, we are reconciling the dualism that characterized the
matriarchal ‘Great Mother’ and the patriarchal dominance of the aeon of Osiris. It is akin
to being in the age of Christ. A reconciliation of the polarity that occurred in the previous
two ages. And this is a very common occult way of thinking. Each O.T.O. member seeks
to reach the archetypal Horus or perfected Will. It is a becoming similar to P.D
to experience first-hand god consciousness. Whether this is achieved through ritual,
meditation, or a combination of both, remains in the purview of the initiate.
Because the O.T.O. regards this age as that of Horus, it is hoped that the future of
the world will be one of great spiritual enlightenment. Within the literature is an implied
sense of utopianism. Since the goal of every O.T.O. member is to evolve the Will into a
new nirvanic consciousness. The Order hopes that if enough members reach this spiritual
ascension, a new global consciousness will emerge. In a post-Horus age of world culture,
everybody would be free to develop their True Will. It is thought that if everybody
developed the Will in this way, there would be no war or famine on the planet.
The contextual circumstances that led to the formation of the O.T.O. are varied
but there is a kind of paranormal and/or spiritual lineage that made the Order a product
of its time. The spiritualists of the 1850s had a profound affect on the idea of invocation
and evocation to achieve supernatural results. Although cultures have utilized ritual to
compel the supernatural for thousands of years, the spiritualists of the 19th century made
the phenomenon a fad. It became a part of industrialized pop-culture and in doing so,
produced a wealth of various initiatory Orders and congregations. Also, groups like the
Theosophical Society had an impact on the emergence of the O.T.O. and pseudo-O.T.O.
societies. The Theosophical Society was an organization created by Madame Blavatsky
in 1875. Its primary goal was knowledge of God through direct experience of the divine.
Similar to the O.T.O., proponents of Theosophy attempted to know the divine essence
through a study of ancient wisdom teachings and inner contemplation.
Throughout the course of this paper, I’ve learned a great deal about the
ritualization and symbolic systems of the O.T.O. I was previously under the impression
that the Order was simply a product of the Hermetic Order Of The Golden Dawn or a
trivial project of Aleister Crowley. Research has gleaned that O.T.O. is a complex and
sophisticated system of archetypal correspondences that utilize a hierarchal methodology
of gradated initiatory teachings in order to reveal esoteric teachings. As a social entity,
the O.T.O. also conjures a group solidarity that emphasizes personal commitment to
the Self while encouraging participation in various forms of ritual. It has been a pleasure
delving into the nuances and mysticism of this religious group and I look forward to
continuing my study of obscure spiritual milieus.
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